Trailer Hitch Balls ?????????????

[TCHB]

I just had a friend break one towing his small car behind his RV. It was a 5,000# ball. I started looking at my hitch balls and I have 2inch 6,000# balls on three receivers. I am going to replace my boat and RV receivers with 10,000# balls. I may have to replace the receivers because the ball shanks are 1 1/4” and the hole is 1inch.

 

[wsuwrhr]

I have always used the bigger shank.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

But did the drawbar bend??

 

[rvrrun]

View attachment 771489 But did the drawbar bend??

Were you trying to get the Mazda on the trailer, or get Bo and Luke to the courthouse?

 

[4Waters]

Where is @Tank misshap? Can't remember the name of the thread

 

[Waffles]

That's why I bought the curt solid shank adjustable mount. Rated for 14k with both 2" and 2 5/16" balls

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[LargeOrangeFont]

Were you trying to get the Mazda on the trailer, or get Bo and Luke to the courthouse?

Yes?

 

[SOCALCRICKETT]

I run solid shank receivers and 14k balls on the boat trailers, the solid receivers should be 14k rated

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[Singleton]

Did not realize the balls had different stamps on them until last year.
Hitch for ToyHauler has 20k ball, and other hitches now have 15k balls.
They all had 6 to 8k balls until I did the research.

 

[varmit86]

I laugh everytime I see an aluminum hitch, have a friend that his broke. They look good but flex and become brittle and break.

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[rivermobster]

Everything for pulling a trailer is rated...

And nobody looks at it until it's too late.

Do you know what class receiver you are running? Might wanna check that out too.

 

[Singleton]

Everything for pulling a trailer is rated...

And nobody looks at it until it's too late.

Do you know what class receiver you are running? Might wanna check that out too.

That’s the fun part. My 2006 2500HD Duramax with HD tow package had only a 8k rated receiver. That was quickly upgraded once I realized how low the weight rating was. As equipped the truck had a 13k conventional limit.

My F350 receiver is rated for 22k conventional.

 

[boatpi]

etrailers.com has a great selection and pricing, usually over $100 is free shipping

 

[Spray-N-Sand]

I laugh everytime I see an aluminum hitch, have a friend that his broke. They look good but flex and become brittle and break.

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Not if it’s 6061 alum made out of one chunk.
Curious to see what brand it was, if it was one of the chineeseium ones ($130. On ebag), serves him right .

 

[wsuwrhr]

Yessir.

I cringe.

I laugh everytime I see an aluminum hitch, have a friend that his broke. They look good but flex and become brittle and break.

 

[wsuwrhr]

I got some bad news about that. Made out of one check just makes it stronger.

Nothing beats steel for a hitch.

Not if it’s 6061 alum made out of one chunk.
Curious to see what brand it was, if it was one of the chineeseium ones ($130. On ebag), serves him right .

 

[wsuwrhr]

The adjustable height alum hitches that are built to drag on driveways, inclines and other shit are the best!!!

 

[4Waters]

Damn it, I just ran into my own hitch! Not hard enough to break the skin but enough to cause a limp. SOB.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

Good info about balls

 

[Spray-N-Sand]

Damn it, I just ran into my own hitch! Not hard enough to break the skin but enough to cause a limp. SOB.

hate when that son-of-a-bitch bites me!

 

[Ziggy]

I just had a friend break one towing his small car behind his RV. It was a 5,000# ball. I started looking at my hitch balls and I have 2inch 6,000# balls on three receivers. I am going to replace my boat and RV receivers with 10,000# balls. I may have to replace the receivers because the ball shanks are 1 1/4” and the hole is 1inch.

I've found all the 1 1/4" shank balls have 2 1/2" drawbar shafts. The 2" drawbar doesn't match ratings with the large shank ball.

 

[Tank]

Where is @Tank misshap? Can't remember the name of the thread

Yep. I used this aluminum receiver with our top gun for 8 years. Pulling the boat out of the water first run out and it’s snapped on the ramp incline.

Went to strait steel one piece receiver.

 

[wsuwrhr]

Those alum fuckers just give me the heebie jeebies.

Yep. I used this aluminum receiver with our top gun for 8 years. Pulling the boat out of the water first run out and it’s snapped on the ramp incline.

Went to strait steel one piece receiver.

 

[Your ad here]

Trailer balls, hitches, and related items wear out and do need replacing. Always check for cracks on the equipment and welds whenever you hook up. Aluminum is a joke.

 

[Spray-N-Sand]

Yep. I used this aluminum receiver with our top gun for 8 years. Pulling the boat out of the water first run out and it’s snapped on the ramp incline.

Went to strait steel one piece receiver.

View attachment 771538 View attachment 771539

Oh damn!
Pretty much tells you where the weak spot was though. I’d bet that was cast, not machined.
No matter what type, that sux! Hope the boat & trailer didn’t get jacked-up too bad.

 

[28Eliminator]

Aluminum, no fucking way. I have a stainless steel hitch with a steel 2- 5/16 ball.. been on there for 12 years now.... now I’m gonna check it out close [emoji23][emoji23]


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[2Driver]

Think Ill toss my 10 year old aluminum one. Towed all my boats and travel trailers, guess Ive been lucky. Seems like it is billet but its probably time to get a new one and a ball too.

I hate to buy stuff I havent bought in awhile as things just seem to get crappier over time. Is there a go to brand?

 

[ToMorrow44]

That's why I bought the curt solid shank adjustable mount. Rated for 14k with both 2" and 2 5/16" balls View attachment 771497

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That’s what I use too. Can’t beat it for the price. It’s a heavy SOB. I towed FL to CA and back almost 14k pounds, no issues.

 

[Tank]

Tell you what...like I said, I ran that aluminum receiver for 8+ years. Pulling probably 15k lbs with the top gun. Doing freaking 75+ out to havasu. So glad it never snapped. I had a reese heavy duty hitch on my duramax dually that cracked and bent too. The whole freakin thing!! I have pics on my computer. Reese replaced it for free. I think what caused that was towing a 42’ tiger that was up too far on the myco and too much tongue weight. Scary.

No more aluminum for me and I check my tow hitch routinely.

 

[rrrr]

That's why I bought the curt solid shank adjustable mount. Rated for 14k with both 2" and 2 5/16" balls View attachment 771497

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I predict someone is going to be rolling on the ground in pain after a close encounter.

 

[TCHB]

I was down at Windsor for a couple hours and walked around and looked at the trailer ball ratings. 7 of 10 were rated at 6,000#. They were 2 inch and 2 5/16. The trailers were carrying 26 to 28ft boats.

 

[spectra3279]

All of my receivers are 20k. And my balls are 18k. I tend to go overboard when towing

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[TCHB]

 

[SJP]

Think Ill toss my 10 year old aluminum one. Towed all my boats and travel trailers, guess Ive been lucky. Seems like it is billet but its probably time to get a new one and a ball too.

I hate to buy stuff I havent bought in awhile as things just seem to get crappier over time. Is there a go to brand?

I replaced mine with a B&M steel one. Still is convenient. I also replaced my receiver to make sure it is rated higher. I can pull all of the numbers but they are rated well over my boats.

 

[Carlson-jet]

We've got Balls..

 

[Flying_Lavey]

That’s what I use too. Can’t beat it for the price. It’s a heavy SOB. I towed FL to CA and back almost 14k pounds, no issues.

I've got the same one too. Amazon for $130 got it the next day. Thing is impressive and very sturdy.

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[TCHB]

I've got the same one too. Amazon for $130 got it the next day. Thing is impressive and very sturdy.

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Looks like I will go with this one. Tired of having too many receivers around the garage.

 

[Tank]

That's why I bought the curt solid shank adjustable mount. Rated for 14k with both 2" and 2 5/16" balls View attachment 771497

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What's the rating on the ball? I like that set-up and 14k should be fine but I need the ball up to that too. Like I said above, I can't believe I never had a failure. All this hitch and ball talk and the snapped hitch I have, I actually started looking at my ratings on my hitch / balls....Way under rated for what I'm towing!

 

[NicPaus]

Etrailer.com 20k rated overkill for boats but dump trailers can get loaded heavy.